A little fish camp

[Southside]

NY was hammering guys with heavy pickups a few years ago, they made a big push on DOT #'s.  All about revenue  safety. 

[Resonator]

If you write "Not For Hire" on the side of a truck, you are considered a private carrier. Meaning you are not hauling paid freight for other companies, only your own freight. And are not required to have a DOT-ICC #.

[Crossroads]

After my moose hunt in Alaska this past fall, I have been churning ideas about buying a piece of land up there to build a getaway cabin on. I like the direction your going. 

[tule peak timber]

The little fish camp is a short term answer to high hotel and car rental costs. Kodiak is very expensive.

Longer term I am putting a lot of thought into how my investment there will pay for itself, cover taxes and insurance and upkeep and still provide me a place to get away. Simply owning it is the first part of the romance, being able to hang onto it and enjoy it, is another matter. 

I looked for 2 years all over Idaho, Montana and Wyoming for a sweet spot where I could kill fish and have a getaway. I just didn't connect. I did however see a whole lot of moose in a valley just above Kemmerer, WY on the rise into the Tetons. Whole lot of moose, very few people, but no ocean! I stepped off the plane in Kodiak, smelled the ocean and I was a goner.

[tule peak timber]

Dry fitting the work surfaces, folding bench/bunk and finishing out the head with teak trim and the shower plumbing. The kitchen sink I chose is 13" deep and I'll be able to wash clothes as well as large crab boiling pots, but not together, ! The folding bunk is a lightweight carbon panel and the hinge actually weighs more than the carbon panel. It folds up to allow access to the freezer and maximize floor space for throwing junk/groceries in the back of the camper. 
I hope to have things tied up with this project pretty soon, but this first quarter has begun to load in a tremendous amount of work on the boards. Back to working 7 days/week. 
On another note; I am seriously considering building a boat next. It would be a 3-4 year commitment and make the fish camp look easy. We shall see!


 

  

 

  

[Walnut Beast]

Looking spectacular!!

[tule peak timber]

The little 4.5 KW diesel set finally arrived and we are figuring out mounting, then ducting, then wiring. It is the smallest 1800 rpm set that I could find. Still fixated on building a boat to take up north as the one I bought to go on top of the camper is going to be too small to be safe. Plugging away.

 

[21incher]

I am surprised it's legal to buy them in your area  . Cute little generator. Can't wait to see the boat build.

[tule peak timber]

In my area it seems like anything that works is scheduled to be going away. With a lot of grunt and shoving we got the little genset into the camper this morning.

 

[LogPup]

Please be careful with your exhaust routing.  I got gassed a couple of times by other trucks that routed their exhaust out the side of the truck instead of to the rear.  It would blow under my sleeper.  I had mine so it went out behind the sleeper about 2 feet.  If you can get back by the bumper corner the better.
David

[Nebraska]

What brand is that little generator?  I may have developed a minor infatuation.
It looks like a good option for a small backup generator on a cabin.
A boat build, perhaps? I am interested in how you would envision a custom fishing boat for around Kodiak.  

[tule peak timber]

We worked on the exhaust routing today with safety in mind for sure. 
The gen set is a 4.5 KW Southeastern Power Products out of Pompano Beach, Fl. It's an 1800 rpm continuous duty, small Kubota engine that should run the rest of my lifetime. The last set I bought from these guys was a 7kw Kubota and it's still powering the ranch today, 22 years later. To my knowledge, it is the smallest low speed set around. Northern Lights builds a similar set, but only in a marine version and I had one of those on my last boat. Very hard to get gen sets with supply chain issues.
As far as thoughts on a boat; it's actually 2 boats. One for the top of the camper and one to get real with. The little fish camp needs to have some way to get off the beach and at least catch dinner and a few a crabs. I'm running into a balance issue of safety, size and weight.
Stay tuned. I haven't quite figured this out yet. I did buy a new 12' aluminum jon boat and will probably just put it up for sale as it's going to be too small for AK.
As far as a real boat; I bought plans for the boat below but instead of outboards, I am going to go with a diesel stern drive, 22 knots cruise with a 500 mile range and at least some creature comforts to keep the wife happy. Lots of things to work out before I actually start the build. This is my friends boat in Oregon ,a Glacier Boats Great Alaskan Kodiak model. I'm meeting up with him next week to get motivated......

 

[21incher]

So the question  is do you want to spend the next 5 years of your life  building a boat or fishing?  :P

[caveman]

I was thinking the same thing.  The old Island Hopper 30's look good to me with a single diesel engine.  Taking a good hull and customizing it to your standards could be a time-saving option.  You and your projects are inspiring.  

[tule peak timber]

I got the little gen set mounted and running and am very happy with the low frequency growl I was hoping for. The next couple of weeks will be wiring, plumbing and then sound attenuation. My approach to soundproofing is to take what is on the market and home brew it on steroids. A picture of the side air intake vent that I'm cooking up. Still thinking about building a boat, but I went ahead and put an Esquif Rangely 17 on order that should get here later this summer. It's about as large a boat as can I manage by myself to hoist on top of the camper.
Now to designing some outriggers.  ;D

 

 

[tule peak timber]

This week I got the fiberglass air intake cowling spun up and mounted and have been working on the wiring. I chose a marine panel that I modified to have a split bus for a couple of 12v dc breakers for emergency lights and the water pump, as well as a shore power lock out main breaker. I plan most of the time burning diesel, but there may be occasions where I can plug into a friend's house or even a campground. Tomorrow I'll run load tests.

 

 

 

[tule peak timber]

So, after load testing, I need to replace the entire water hose system with US made hose and this will be done next week. I got the freezer, the forced air and some of the acoustics in. The forced air has a variable speed blower that heats the toilet and provides clothes drying for the trip back on the plane, not to mention a really nice warm shower. The freezer is a 6.8 cubic ft. minus 5 degree unit, with a blower on the inside that should work well for fast freezing of fillets and meats. The fold up bunk works nicely in front of it and technically I should be able to sleep 3 people in this unit, but only one can stand up at any one time as I am running out of room in my 8' truck bed. The insulation I cooked up for the generator box is a sandwich of acoustical foam, 2" rockwool board and 2 lb. mass loaded vinyl. It works surprisingly well. I have acoustical foam on the ceiling, 3M acoustical truck liner for the nose cone area and several gallons of liquid mass loaded vinyl for the floor. I am very optimistic at how livable this is going to be with a generator just inches away. Anyway, some pics.

 

 

 

 

 

[tule peak timber]

Got the galley together and replumbed with better US made clamps and silicone hose. I put 3M Thinsulate in the nosecone, acoustical foam on the ceiling and got the generator well sealed, sound deadened and buttoned up. I've grabbed what few areas are remaining and turned them into sliding storage. the only thing remaining on the inside is a thick coat of acoustical flooring that goes on the fiberglass be. I'm very happy so far with the sound level inside and outside. I ditched the Esquif 17' canoe idea. Instead I bought an old aluminum Gregor that was in storage for the last couple of decades and I'm rebuilding it as the camper top boat. I ditched the loading idea that I developed, cut away and reglassed everything and am awaiting an Eide loading system being built up in Oregon. A few pics attached.

 

 

[firefighter ontheside]

Somebody is selling an Esquif Heron here in Stl for $1600.  I'm not sure what kind of deal that is.

[21incher]

That is comming out awesome.  When is the maiden voyage planned? 

[tule peak timber]

I was supposed to go to Kodiak with the camper a month ago. Too many delays and refinements, along with boat changes and other problems. I will spend some time living in it this next winter parked in my yard to fine tune things and finish up. Looks like next spring for me as the ferry service is iffy in the winter. I still have parts dribbling in and I'm in a big row with a Mercury outboard dealership trying to do a bait and switch with the boat motor. A couple of pics of the boat (the final out of 3) that will go on top of the rig. I have time so I'm building hatch access sealed floatation chambers and outfitting it with a nice chart plotter set up, electronics and a minnkota trolling motor. Eventually I'll have a 25 horse outboard once I get through the legal issues with the dealer. The goal is to be self contained for ocean, river or whatever.

 

 

[Resonator]

Pretty fancy looking wood on that sink countertop installed.

[doc henderson]

Tule, I always enjoy your pictures, projects and information.

[tule peak timber]

I just returned from 2 weeks fishing around Kodiak. Rain and wind with temps in the 40's all week so very little boat action with mostly river and surf fishing. Just some potshots (crab pots) from a much needed break chopping wood. Very little salmon in the rivers and no sun for a very late summer. The flowers and berries are really just starting and everything seems late. An incredibly beautiful place.....

 

 

Lots of halibut in the 40-60 lb range surf fishing. I released a dozens of 10-20 lb fish and also caught sculpin, rays and big rock sole. As the tide peaked I would start to fish the rivers for salmon with some but not a lot of success.

 

Lots of eating and drinking with friends. That is a 93 oz buffalo steak fresh off the BBQ grill. About 100 lbs of cleaned cocked crab, yumm.

 

 

 

 

Where I want to retire..... 8)

[Magicman]

Beautiful !!!    8)